Beer Review: Peaky Blinder

This came heavily recommended, though I've had it in for a while now, and tonight was a good night to have something heavy, dark and brooding. The name, Peaky Blinder, speaks of something dark, mysterious and a big boggy and so it seemed to fit the mood. Obviously you, good reader, will be the ultimate judge of that one. But it's another from T. A. Sadler's that I knew would be more common as time goes on. And, you know, as the marking abates a moment and I can see the clear road to planning for next year up ahead I thought it was a good time to be having an ale.

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Naval Standard

Some friends were over for the weekend with their littlest and it seemed prudent to visit a steam railway and offer some ale. The main companion of this particular beer journey was not a fan of the ale but his wife had brought along some specialist stuff she had discovered, which was eventually not tried over the weekend, but it is coming: consider yourself warned! A trip to the supermarket to pick up a chocolate gateau also garnered a return visit to the Muirhouse Brewery Taps, and a much welcome return it was, and so there was even some actual cask ale imbibed. It was a very nice weekend, the weather has been lovely, and the trains were much appreciated by all the small people. I believe that counts as a success!

Join me, won't you, for a sojourn along the wild flower side of the path, pausing only to sniff of the scent and sneeze because of the hayfever induced by city living and the slow inexorable drift to the ultimate heat-death of Universe. Would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Imperial Ale

After the totally disappointing Snowman's Revenge I decided to take a risk and purchase this little number from the same brewery. The brewery is the now infamous Wentworth (here) and the subject of tonight's escapade into beers and their resultant reviews is the nicely labelled Imperial Ale. What the hey, it's worth a shot, right?

What's the worst that could happen? No, wait, that's the advertising slogan from Dr Pepper... Where will it end? Well, not here unless you want it to. Would you like it to go on?

Beer Review: Rum Finish

Another week behind me now and I only messed up once. I do enjoy a good debate but am still feeling guilty for not noticing that I had offended someone in one. Whoops. Also, much in the way of marking (all my own making of course) means a long weekend. I can't complain, there's a new Star Wars trailer out and the Boy has joined me in getting all excited. I just hope it's not like Episode 1. Anyway, it's Sunday and I fancied breaking into my gift box set of Innis & Gunn that I treated myself to. I've started, at random (I just plucked the first bottle out without looking), with the Rum Finish and I have to say I'm looking forward to it.

Would ye like to come with me on a sail through the seas of insanity for to learn of an ale that be tickling yar tastebuds? Yar? Would ye be likin' t'know more?

Beer Review: Old Timer

Recalling the rather nice experience of the beer 'festival' in our local JDW and the rather nice brew from Wadworth I decided to take a punt on this offering. It was no doubt helped by the fact that it cost me the princely sum of £1 and that it sold itself up front as a bottle conditioned strong ale. I refer to the disappointingly not a stout Old Timer which shall set the scene for tonight's review of ales and the journey on which we are about to embark together. Isn't it exciting?

It isn't? Oh. Well. Whatever. If you do wish to look into this brew further then you need do no more than click below to learn more.

London Nights

I may not have mentioned this much before now, but last week we took our first family holiday since about 2010 and we took it to London. Staying in a, frankly, rather nice hotel at the Walthamstow Central tube station and taking our meals from local supermarkets meant that it was a budget buster and a very pleasant few days. Our young children showed me how utopian my thinking was on visiting such things as the Natural History Museum (no, we didn't see any dinosaurs) and the Science Museum (looking really quite tired in places) as well as sojourns to the National Gallery (no, didn't get to see the Impressionist stuff) and tourist-y sites.

On one such outing, this time around Parliament Square (I know how to live) I noticed a Shepherd Neame pub and joked about getting a half there. Anna agreed and suggested that I do exactly that one day. That night, after checking and finding no shows on, Anna suggested that I go and do a half there and some other pubs too. I, of course, did not need asking twice. And so it came to pass that I spent a very nice evening, the night of the fire in Holborn, gadding about in London sampling ales and public houses.

Does this sound like your cup of tea? It doesn't? Oh, what about your pint of ale? Ah, well then, time to read more...

Beer Review: Steam Beer

I have been accused that I buy too many of my ales from B&M and that is probably true. But, you know, sometimes I go to other supermarkets to buy my ale. You may have noticed this one peeking out from behind other ales in my pictures and then suddenly disappearing, this is where it went! I have a review of a pub crawl... walk that I did in London last week that I want to get posted but it has a lot of images and it's taking a while to get it in order - that'll be a Sunday job then. In the meantime, enjoy this review of Steam Beer from the Revisionist brewery. In this case, Marstons.

So, this is a good little tipple for an evening and one that you may wish to know more about. Would you like to know more?

Easter Ales: Robin Hood

It's Easter Sunday, this is cause for celebration (being Christian-flavoured) and so I decided that I would mark the occasion like any other and have an ale. Inkeeping, I hope, with my own vision of what Christ is supposed to be (social-justice and pro-human) I thought it fitting to try Robin Hood from Springhead as Robin Hood was supposed to embody the same values and ideals as Christ Himself when he took from the rich to give to the poor (in some versions of the myth) as well as having a lovely band of merrie men to help him enact his deeds, kinda like disciples (and with the same smattering of human failings too, if memory serves).

And there's Disney too. I do rather enjoy, guiltily it has to be said, that film. And so there's also that link. It also forms a lovely pair with the last review on here of Maid Marian (link) though I lacked the wherewithal to have two ales on a single night. Which is ridiculous seeing how many I can get through on a night out! See this link and this link for evidence of the insanity. Anyway, one ale it is and one ale it shall be.

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Easter Ales: Maid Marian

Easter Ales? That may be a bit of a strong assertion to make, but it is getting close to Easter now, with Good Friday round the corner, and I have been thinking a lot about politics and who to vote for in the coming General Election seeing as how my community offered more votes for the BNP than for the Greens and UKIP combined in 2010. This does not bode well. I'm not a UKIP supporter. Luckily for me, there is not much chance of this hampering my enjoyment of a decent ale!

I have a brace of ales by Springhead to talk about over this time of mourning and celebration - the whole point of the Christian faith no less - and I thought that I would reflect this in some ales of a character that befits my vision of that celebration. Of course, being a wuss, I'm only having a single ale tonight. Therefore I start with Maid Marian who, by tradition, was compassionate and eased the suffering of those in the manor to which she was born before being betrothed and fighting with and for the Merry Men. And now I have an ale by the same name.

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